It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas, Abu Hurairah and ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, said: "Save your heels from the Hellfire."

This Hadeeth is one of the comprehensive and concise words of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him. It has great benefits that we will summarize in the following analyses:

Firstly, This Hadeeth has a cause which is reported by Al-Bukhaari and Muslim from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr, may Allaah be pleased with them, who said: "The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, remained behind us on a journey. He, peace and blessing be upon him, joined us while we were performing ablution for the ‘Asr (afternoon) prayer which was over-due and we were just passing wet hands over our feet (not washing them thoroughly) so he addressed us in a loud voice saying twice or thrice, "Wayl (i.e. woe) to (dry) heels, because of Hellfire.."

In another narration reported by Muslim, ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr, may Allaah be pleased with them, said: "We returned from Makkah to Medina with the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, and when we came to some water on the way, some of the people were in a hurry at the time of the ‘Asr prayer and performed ablution hurriedly; and when we reached them, their heels were dry, no water had touched them. The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said: "Woe to (dry) heels, because of Hellfire. Make your ablution thorough. "

There is also another wording for this Hadeeth reported by Muslim that Abu Hurairah, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, saw a man who did not wash his heel and he, peace and blessing be upon him, remarked: "Woe to the heels because of Hellfire."

Secondly, the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, used the Arabic word of Wayl that refers to punishment, sadness and destruction and it was said that it refers to the pus of the dwellers of Hellfire; however, the preponderant opinion is that it is a valley in the Hellfire for Abu Sa‘eed narrated a Marfoo‘ (traceable) Hadeeth in which the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said: "Wayl is a valley in the Hellfire." [Reported by Ibn Hibaan in his Saheeh] End quote

There is an addition in another narration: "…If you were to send mountains in it (i.e. Wayl), they would be melted due to its intensive heat." 

Thirdly, in another narration reported by Imam Muslim the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said: "Woe to the hamstrings because of Hellfire."

The Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, stated it in particular and its punishment of the Hellfire because they are mostly neglected in ablution. Al-Baghawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: "Woe to those who neglect washing their heels in ablution."

Fourthly, this Hadeeth has an evidence on the obligation of letting water flow over all organs during ablution and that leaving some of them unwashed will not be sufficient for the severe threat of the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, for those who neglect washing their heels.

Fifthly, some scholars view that such Hadeeth proves that this occurs when one sees them unwashed. Rather, it was reported from some other routes of such Hadeeth that the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, said: "Complete the Wudoo' (ablution). Woe to the hamstrings because of Hellfire."

An-Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: "If just wiping is sufficient there will be no threat for the one who does not wash his heels."

Moreover, washing legs is what was reported from the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, according to his words and actions unlike those who adopt the opinion of wiping or choosing between washing and wiping.

Amongst that it was narrated that Humran, (the slave of 'Uthman), said: "I saw ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, may Allaah be pleased with him, asking for a tumbler of water (and when it was brought) he poured water over his hands and washed them thrice and then put his right hand in the water container and rinsed his mouth, washed his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out. Then, he washed his face and forearms up to the elbows thrice, passed his wet hands over his head and washed his feet up to the ankles thrice. After that ‘Uthmaan said, "I saw the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, performing ablution like this of mine…"

There are many other Hadeeths like that.

Sixthly, some scholars view that such Hadeeth proves the obligation of removing ring during performing Wudoo'. Imam Al-Bukhaari, may Allaah have mercy upon him, named the chapter of that Hadeeth: "The washing of heels during ablution and Ibn Sireen, may Allaah be pleased with him, used to wash the place of his ring whenever he performs ablution.

Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar, may Allaah have mercy upon him, stated that it was reported from him (i.e. Ibn Sireen) with a sound chain of transmission that he used to move his ring whenever he performs ablution. Ibn Hajar said: "This is if the ring is loose enough in a way water reaches the skin by moving it."

Many people neglect such matters and thus it is worth noting.

Seventhly, Some scholars view that such Hadeeth proves that people are punished for minor sins or the sins that they consider minor. For example, not washing one's heels is something that some people view unimportant; however, the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, threatened those who neglect washing it with Wayl which is a valley in the Hellfire.  

Eighthly, This Hadeeth indicates that it is obligatory to teach the ignorant, enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong. That is because when the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessing be upon him, saw those who are in a hurry and did not wash their heels, he did not keep silent and called them loudly saying: "Wayl (i.e. woe) to (dry) heels, because of Hellfire.." Actually, this is the normal condition of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, that he is always teacher and educator, calling people to Allaah The Almighty, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil and his biography is full of the events that indicate that.  

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